Max fourth in Melbourne FP1: "Not bad"

Published on 24 March 2017 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen finished the first session of the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship in fourth. In the beautiful, sunny Albert Park in Melbourne Australia, the Dutchman clocked a 1:25.2 on the super-softs. Lewis Hamilton was quickest (1:24.220) followed by Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas. Daniel Ricciardo completed the top four.

“The first session wasn’t bad. I think we’re near the front”, says Max to Verstappen.nl. “I wasn’t able to do many laps in the opening part of the session because of a small issue with the starter motor. But after that, we did a run on the super-softs. We know those tyres peak in the first lap, but I was also still finding my way, getting used to car and new speeds. The balance was al right, but we can work at it in FP2.”

Romain Grosjean is the first to head out for an installation lap, followed by most of the field, including Max. Williams’ Lance Stroll is the first driver to set a time. The Canadian rookie opens the day with a 1:33.3 but his time is soon surpassed after a flurry of drivers start putting their name on the board.

With an hour remaining, Max heads out for a stint on the soft Pirellis. On his out-lap, the Dutchman notices a gearbox sync issue resulting in a slow 1:28 before heading back to the team.

Fifteen minutes later, Max returns to the Australian tarmac on the super-softs. The faster compound prove their worth as the youngster improves his lap time to his session’s best (1:25.246).

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton appears to show Mercedes’ true potential with a 1:24.220, in a session that saw remarkably little drama – apart from a few minor excursions into the tarmac run-off.

Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park - Friday 24 March 2017

FREE PRACTICE 1 RESULTS

Pos No Driver              Team                        Time      Gap      Laps
01  44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                    1:24.220           22
02  77 Valtteri Bottas     Mercedes                    1:24.803  +0.583s  25
03  3  Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:24.886  +0.666s  19
04  33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:25.246  +1.026s  19
05  7  Kimi Räikkönen      Ferrari                     1:25.372  +1.152s  16
06  5  Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                     1:25.464  +1.244s  10
07 19  Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:26.142  +1.922s  28
08  8  Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:26.168  +1.948s  20
09 27  Nico Hulkenberg     Renault                     1:26.183  +1.963s  15
10 11  Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes        1:26.276  +2.056s  29
11 55  Carlos Sainz        Toro Rosso                  1:26.450  +2.230s  24
12 26  Daniil Kvyat        Toro Rosso                  1:26.514  +2.294s  25
13 18  Lance Stroll        Williams Mercedes           1:26.734  +2.514s  29
14 14  Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda               1:27.116  +2.896s  18
15  9  Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari              1:27.348  +3.128s  30
16 31  Esteban Ocon        Force India Mercedes        1:27.656  +3.436s  23
17 20  Kevin Magnussen     Haas Ferrari                1:27.667  +3.447s  20
18 94  Pascal Wehrlein     Sauber Ferrari              1:28.539  +4.319s  22
19 30  Jolyon Palmer       Renault                     1:28.585  +4.365s  6
20  2  Stoffel Vandoorne   McLaren Honda               1:28.695  +4.475s  14

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